At the age of sixteen driving is a coming of age- a transition from childhood to adulthood. With many things the older a child gets the more prepared they are but with driving it is not dependent to a certain age but rather experience. To many American families teen driving is undeniably a privilege. To receive a license as a developing 16 year old one needs guardian permission. If such activity is a privilege to begin with it should come with certain requirements and regulations. A driving education course will remove any questions and concerns a young driver many experience ultimately making them more suitable for the road. With many of the current driving accidents tied to teens, we notice teen drivers need further training. When such training is implemented prior to receiving ones licence the roads will become safer and teen parents minds will be at ease.
Contrary to popular beliefs driving does not improve with age. Unless this process is continuous, a young and old driver will do just as
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Although this is true, age could help a driver make more rational decisions. In a study done by Harvard magazine the adolescent brain is not fully developed until around the age of 25 (Ruder). This does not mean a teen is incapable of the challenges posed when on the road but that being said training in an educational driving course could compensate for the mental maturity. In a driving course the teen will be given driving scenarios and taught the right and wrong way to react in an on road situation. By doing so the child no longer is dependent on their frontal lobe for reasoning as they have already been taught the right and wrong way to react. This is the type of training that can not be achieved at home in routine practicing with the parents, but rather something that has to be embedded into an adolescent brain by a trained
Second, the age is too high. I think that 16 is too late in life to start driving. I say the age should be around 14 or 15. “Too
Because of safety concerns, many states have increased the age at which teens can begin to drive. Virginia's legislature is considering raising the minimum driving age from sixteen to eighteen. I do not believe the age should be increased because teeneagers benefit greatly from driving at the at the age of sixteen. Driving is a necessity for many young adults to maneuver from location to location as they become older with more responsibility. Many adults assume students lack the ability to make appropriate choices while driving, but this is not the case. Having a driver's license at the age of sixteen allows young adults to gain experience, lets them become more independent, and encourages responsibility.
Are teens to young and not mature enough to drive at the age of 16? What do you think? Some people think that teens are not mature enough to start driving at the age of 16. Teens brains have not fully developed by the time they are 16. So they are not as aware as they should be on the road. With most teens having a social life, they are more tempted to look at their phone and text them back or snapchat them back. Teens at the age of 16 get in many more accidents than young adults and older teens.
Teens make up about 8% of drivers in the world but, teens are involved in 20% of the accidents (“Protecting Our Children” n.p). As a result of getting a drivers license, teens don’t have to drive with their parents anymore which can be a big problem. Teens become careless when getting into a vehicle without a parent present. They want to cram in as many people as they can fit, turn up the radio, and have reckless amounts of fun being able to transport themselves for the first time. “The Insurance Institue of Highway Safety conducted endless amounts of research on teen accidents. They found that there is a high crash rate for new younger drivers than older more experienced ones due to their decision making and inexperience” (Lund 28). It has also been recorded that 17 and 18 year olds have also recorded less accidents than newly licensed drivers (Lund 28). Laura Mcelroy, police spokewomen, said, “Raising the driving age will save more lives, a more mature person behind the wheel will make better decisions” (“Shifting the Drving Age” 22). Older drivers are proven to have better decision making skills behind the wheel that would lead to less accidents and would end up saving more
Obviously the longer you drive the more experience you have but when you first start driving you would have no experience. So judging the way younger people drive doesn't Make sense because as i said, they have no experience.“There’s a little more maturity, but overall it comes down to experience,” White said “Regardless of age, they just need time practicing” No matter when you start driving whether you’re 16, 25 or 30 all
In 2013, more than 2,500 teenagers died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries. Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem for young people 13-19 years old (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [IIHS], 2014). Drivers are not the only ones at risk. Teenagers who are passengers in others vehicles make up a startling 87% of the fatality statistic. Lack of driving experience, disregard for traffic laws, and quick access to full driving privileges contribute to teen death. To reduce teen driving fatalities, successful completion of driver education classes provided by public and private schools should be mandatory for all teenagers prior to receiving their driving permit.
The first position in this argument is some young people who do know how to drive or near to learn driving are mostly immature. Due to a recent study young drivers who do know how to drive are very immature and irresponsible about their driving skills such as drinking and driving, drugs, and sometimes just being behind the wheel will cause such things like car
There still an improvement but not quite an effect we assume said Dr. Masten . 18 year olds driving is still risky but they at least have more experience than 16 year olds who barely know the basics about driving . A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine this year found that teenagers who started school earlier in the morning had higher crash rates .
Driver’s Education courses are important for a new driver. Drivers Education is proven to help young driver’s become familiar with driving and to learn important defensive driving techniques. Our mission at Greenbrier High School should be to incorporate a Driver’s Education course into the curriculum for their students. Teens from the ages 16-19 have the highest accident rate in the nation. It is important for teens to complete a Driver’s Ed course so they can learn road safety rules, traffic rules and regulations, and defensive driving strategies.
One crucial evidence used in the case to raise the driving age is the mental stage teenagers are in at this age. Teen brains at sixteen aren't as developed as an eighteen-year-old brain. This is showcased in a study on the Chicago Tribune that
While my Granny’s passengers knew about her ineptitude for driving, other drivers were unaware of the danger passing them by. Individuals over 85, who drive, have a four times higher fatality rate than teenagers (Landphair). There are many news stories regarding elderly people who have caused numerous deaths by simply confusing the gas and brake pedals (Landphair). Some contribute these accidents to a decline in vision and cognitive functioning, two factors essential to safe driving. Studies have also shown that if older individuals are under pressure, they tend to make more driving errors than teens (Charles).
All of the studies that have been carried out in this field show that younger drivers that are behind the wheel are more likely to be involved in serious accidents - raising the age would make the roads a much safer place for
“An eighty-six year old man killed ten people and injured more than seventy when he drove his Buick into a crowded farmers market in California. In Florida, an eighty-four year old woman drove her car through a window of a Sears and into a cash register and employee” (Murphy). Sadly enough, instances like these are becoming more and more prevalent and require immediate action. It is imperative that a more comprehensive approach be taken when deciding the competence of elderly drivers. Laws must be put into action to mandate and administer testing and re-examining of the skills and eligibility of this group. Equally important, we must consider those who will no longer be able to drive, and ensure their transportation and occupational needs
Earning a driver’s license is most important for most young Americans, but teens are the ones with poor driving performance. According to “traffic safety facts” (22) in 2008: 5,864 15-20-year-old drivers were involved in dangerous crashes. Teens are proven to have road rage. Teens, in fact, love to drive at night with other teens speeding through the streets. Statistics show that young people ages 15-20 can make up the total percent of the driving population. 14 percent are involved in dangerous crashes. This percentage of crashes needs to be reduced. The only possible way to upturn the level of maturity when it comes to driving a car would be the age of an eighteen-year-old.
Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.